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Iowa News You Can Use

WATCH: Privaty equity is raising the rent at mobile home parks

By Iowa Production Staff, Zachary Oren Smith

January 29, 2026
Havenpark Communities owns mobile home parks across Iowa and the country. Residents’ rents are climbing. Services are getting cut.
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  • Zachary Oren Smith

    Zachary Oren Smith is your friendly neighborhood reporter. He leads Starting Line’s political coverage where he investigates corruption, housing affordability and the future of work. For nearly a decade, he’s written award-winning stories for Iowa Public Radio, The Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Send your tips on hard news and good food to [email protected].

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WATCH: Plant closure will be ‘devastating’ for Iowa community

WATCH: Plant closure will be ‘devastating’ for Iowa community

Case New Holland says it will close its Burlington plant by the middle of next year. Workers say it’s not because of money—which the company has plenty of—but because they want to break the union.

Sign the petition to keep CNH in Burlington here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-case-new-holland-invest-in-burlington-protect-our-plant?source=direct_link&&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Iowa%20Worker%27s%20Almanac%2011-13-25&utm_term=Iowa%20Starting%20Line%20-%20Workers%20Almanac

For more stories like this directly to your inbox, subscribe to the Iowa Worker’s Almanac.

WATCH: Iowa’s economic crash out (PT 1) – Cornhole Champions #46

WATCH: Iowa’s economic crash out (PT 1) – Cornhole Champions #46

It’s easy to miss what’s happening in Iowa when you’re scrolling past headlines. GDP down 6.1% in Q1. Soybean markets shipped to Argentina. A $20 billion bailout that somehow bypassed the farmers who needed it most. But this isn’t just about tariffs or trade policy. It’s about who holds power in Iowa and who gets left behind.

On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to unpack the New York Times story everyone should be reading: how Trump’s economic policies hit Iowa harder than almost anywhere else in the country.

Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.

SHOW RUNDOWN:
0:00 – Cold open and Zach’s cryptic note about chips
1:30 – Marinette Miller Meeks refuses town halls: “When hell freezes over”
4:30 – Welcome to Cornhole Champions and what’s coming today
6:30 – The New York Times story Iowa needs to read: Trump’s policies hit hard
9:00 – Why bailouts don’t help small farmers and Argentina gets our markets
11:00 – John Deere layoffs, tariffs, and what it means for the Quad Cities
12:00 – Immigration crackdowns devastate Iowa’s meat packing industry

*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
– YouTube – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
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– Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
– PocketCasts – https://pca.st/74atty1j
… and everywhere you listen to podcasts

*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
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WATCH: Celebrating one year of Cornhole Champions (PT 3) – Cornhole Champions #46

WATCH: Celebrating one year of Cornhole Champions (PT 3) – Cornhole Champions #46

This is one of the last episodes of Cornhole Champions for 2025. We’re taking November and December off, coming back in January with fresh ideas. But before we wrap, it felt right to step back and talk about what this year has been — and what 2026 might bring.

On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to talk about the future of the podcast and of the state it was created to serve.

Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.

*SHOW RUNDOWN:*
0:00 – Taking a break: last episode of 2025
1:30 – What it’s like building a podcast in Iowa
3:00 – Why the news cycle moves too fast for weekly shows
4:30 – The difference between videos and podcasts as mediums
6:30 – Why human connection matters more than traditional media
7:00 – Creating space that shows what life in Iowa could be
11:00 – Legacy media vs. new platforms: who’s doing the work?
13:00 – Writing stories about Iowans for Iowans
14:30 – What stories should we cover in 2026? Send us your ideas
15:00 – Thank you for a year of Cornhole Champions

*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
– YouTube – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
– Substack – https://cornholechampions.substack.com/
– Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714
– Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
– PocketCasts – https://pca.st/74atty1j
… and everywhere you listen to podcasts

*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://x.com/zacharyos
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/zacharyosmith
– Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/zacharyos.bsky.social
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